Why This is Going to Be Your Best Christmas

I was watching a Hallmark movie with my husband and daughter when I glanced over at the fire Gary had prepared earlier.

“It’s absolutely perfect,” I said as I observed the way the flames flickered and danced on the neatly placed logs. “It’s so perfect it seems fake!“  

My husband laughed and said, “So, if it looks perfect, it’s fake? The fake isn’t as perfect as the real!”

Mind. Blown!

He had a point! How often do we let our expectations for perfection keep us from enjoying the beauty that’s found in REAL life?

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (NIV).

Over the last few years, our family filmed our Christmas editions of Drenda and Fixing the Money Thing right in our living room. And because of this, it was important that our Christmas tree was “camera ready.”

We kept the “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments tucked neatly in their drawer, and we left the homemade decorations my children had made in our basement.

Last year, we took our family down to Florida for our holiday celebration. ❤️

This meant we could decorate our tree at home however we wanted, with whatever we wanted. My daughter Kirsten, who has always loved the traditional side of Christmas, (she would put up the tree in September if we let her) was thrilled to pull out all of our special ornaments and proudly display them.

We decorated our tree with every messy, heartfelt ornament we could find. We added hanging icicles, pretty bulbs, and flowers to dress it up, but none of those things compared to the memories attached to each of the special ornaments hanging on our tree.

They weren’t “perfect,” but each of them represented the HEART of our family. And to me, that was more beautiful than anything.

I would choose REAL over perfect and JOY over frustration every time!

When we choose joy, we enjoy our lives so much more. Kenneth Copeland once said, “Since joy is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, you already have it residing within you. But you must develop it, confess it ,and live by it if you want to enjoy its power.”

Go HERE for the full article.

The REAL is where the memories, the beauty, and the heart are! My favorite part of the holidays is not the “perfect” we try to create with the fake but the real that happens when we get past the perfect.

We all trim our trees, wrap our gifts, and try to match our decor to the perfect image we may see in a magazine or our mind’s eye, but that’s not my favorite part of the holidays.

My favorite part is the party that happens after the party, when there’s paper shredded all over the floor, and the perfect decor is wrecked with laughter, a good-food hangover, and my husband takes to the piano and just plays from his heart.

Eventually, one of my sons will slip into his place and pick up the tune with jazz. The grandkids are running around the room and dirty dishes abound.

No makeup, no perfectly placed clothing or hair, just perfectly plain, relaxed fun with family.

My prayer for you and your family is that…

you will find the imperfect moments that become perfectly perfect!

One of my favorite Bible verses about being joyful, no matter the circumstance, is Proverbs 17:22: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (ESV).

Staying joyful and seeing the good in any situation is a choice! Go HERE for some more wisdom on how to choose joy, even when things aren’t going perfectly.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and learn to enjoy by choosing joy and embracing the chaos more than the images of sugarplums dancing in your head.

Leave your expectations and disappointments at the door, and find satisfaction in the REAL, BEAUTIFUL moments you get to share with your family this holiday season!

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God has an incredible plan for your life, but it starts with discovering your joy in His presence. Are you ready to get HAPPY? Embark on a journey toward a happier you today by ordering my weekly devotional, The Happy Life: Notes from God HERE!